Asia architects use green solutions to cool buildings
In many subtropical countries across Asia, such as Indonesia and the Philippines, air conditioning is increasingly being considered a necessity. But one architecture firm specializes in “bioclimatic architecture", says it could make air conditioning units redundant. By connecting with the local topography, climate, and vegetation, as well as cleverly manipulating a building's orientation, the firm can naturally create a comfortable indoor climate.
In cooperation with the World Bank, Charles Gallavardin, director of an architecture firm in Asia, built an apartment building in Ho Chi Minh City, which houses 350 families in an impoverished neighborhood. "We try to avoid big glass façades facing east or west, because that would make the building like an oven in a tropical climate," he says. "If you work with the main wind stream and have smart sun protection, you can do it -- you really can design buildings that need no air conditioning in a hot place like Vietnam." Gallavardin explains that a typical bioclimatic building is naturally about 5 Celsius cooler than the outside temperature, with natural ventilation and the ceiling fan doing the rest of the work.
"It is crucial for all new building designs in cities to encompass bioclimatic architectural features," Myles McCarthy, director of implementation at the Carbon Trust consultancy and research firm, tells CNN. "As demands in Asian cities for buildings -- both domestic and commercial -- increases, and the need for higher density living continues to climb with urban populations, it will be crucial to ensure this growth does not drive energy and water consumptions higher."
(From: http://edition.cnn.com. Access: 31/07/2018. Adapted.)
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